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Wednesday, June 7, 2017

The Amazing, Rechargeable, But Poorly Named LED Tube Light

Yes, I am addicted to flashlights. As addictions go, this one is mostly benign. How many lights does one person need? I'll let you know when I get to that number. Well, I've gone and done it. I found another way cool flashlight I simply could not resist. It's small, lightweight and unbelievably bright. I'd seen it a while ago, but didn't want to spend $10.00 on it (plus shipping) so when I stumbled across a deal for 2 of them for $9.99 with FREE shipping. I couldn't help myself. Little did I know then, but waiting can be a tough climb. Up hill....both ways! Any way, good things come to those who wait. Most of the time.

The Light!

When I order things I usually expect them to show up pretty quickly. Especially from places like Amazon. If you have Prime you can almost expect your packages sooner than they say they will arrive. Well, much of the time any how. This is not always the case. Long shipping times still exist from some online vendors. Especially if they ship from China. I know lots of products, even many produced by huge United States companies, are made in China. Primarily to keep the cost down. Well, this beautiful little gem is no exception. It's TINY (odd to use CAPITAL letters to mean really small..but...). Only a couple of inches in length and 1/2 inch in width and 1/4 inch in thickness. What it lacks in size it makes up for in performance and features.

Cool Looking, Too!

The manufacturer has managed to fit a 45 Lumen, dimmable light powered by a Li-Ion battery pack, a waterproof switch and a micro USB charging port all into this little baby. It feels very sturdy and well made. The case is made from Polycarbonate just like F-16 windshields! It's a rugged material that should last a really long time in this application. Besides, it's cool looking too! There is a rubberized switch on one side that's very easy to find in the dark and controls all the light functions. Tap it once, you get a low Lumen output light, perfect for looking through a bag or other container. Hold it down and you get the full 45 Lumen output. (Sounds like it isn't really that bright. Well, it is!) Let go and it shuts off. Tap once then hold and it will cycle from low output slowly all the way up to full output. Cool feature. You can stop at any level and it will turn on at that level next time it's used.

Brighter Than Advertised!

The case is semi-transparent so you can see all the workings. I liked the fact that the case halves were screwed together rather than glued or snapped in place. The light also comes with two split rings. One goes on the light and the other is for keys. Both nice quality. I hate those things. I always end up getting skewered by the sharp pointed end of the split ring. I shouldn't complain, but sometimes I still do. OK, back to the light. Incredibly, when you plug in a standard micro USB charging cable (like the ones you have for your phone...sorry iPhone folks, not you) there is a tiny blue LED inside the case that illuminates. When charging is finished, it shuts off. Simple and effective. So far, I have been using it on and off for a few days and it hasn't needed a charge yet. The packaging says over an hour on high and 15 hours on low. YMMV.

So now I have yet another light to add to my collection. I think this one will live on my work keychain. I keep the keys tucked into my belt end so it will always be handy. If you are a flashlight fan this is a keeper.

I have heard a rumor to the effect that some people have escaped to these mystical things called "lives" -- but whenever I've attempted to run away in my RV, I've quickly gotten a fuel bill that brings me grinding RIGHT back to an ugly fiscal reality...

My last road trip requiring 5000 miles in a week, I'm doing this "relaxing RV" thing ALL wrong...

Wow! 5000 miles in a week! At least my "life on the keyboard" doesn't run up the gas/diesel bill.

And Rich, I was just showing off -- that I actually knew the answer (doesn't happen often), and that even though I'm older than you, occasionally I can "beat you to it," i.e., fill in when you're out having fun. ;) (Didn't mean to step on your toes, BTW.) --Diane

The 5000mi wasn't intentional when planned -- an already aggressive 2000mi NY to FL trip added an LA wedding and then (mid-trip) an abrupt funeral. Towing fuel against airfare of the same destinations, we STILL quartered our expenses, ate and slept better -- just lost some of the original "relaxation" aspect. Airfare is completely absurd when driving 17,000lbs 5000miles is still MUCH cheaper -- and no strip searches!

All of that said, I got a good schooling on my TPMS and rapid-relocation tire pressures -- in a single 20F-NY to 85F-AL drive-day, my tires gained 20psi and set off all kinds of alarms. While I caught and bled that issue, I still popped a tire on a VA road hazard (roadside is a bad way to find out the 10yo spare wasn't usable and my Roadside Assistance exempted the trailer we buy it for!).

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